Optical time-domain reflectometer device including multiple and bi-directional optical testing for fiber analysis

ABSTRACT

In some examples, an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) device may include a laser source to emit a laser beam into a device under test (DUT), and a connection port to connect the OTDR device to a first end of the DUT, where the OTDR device may be designated a first OTDR device. A sensor display generator may determine a length of the DUT, receive, from a second OTDR device connectable to a second opposite end of the DUT, and over the DUT, OTDR information acquired by the second OTDR device in a direction from the second OTDR device towards the first OTDR device, and ascertain, based on acquisition by the first OTDR device, further OTDR information in a direction from the first OTDR device towards the second OTDR device. The sensor display generator may generate a bi-directional combined schematic display that includes relevant optical events with respect to the DUT.

PRIORITY

This patent application is a Continuation of commonly assigned andco-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/152,046, filed Oct. 4,2018, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d) to French patentapplication number 1857711, having a filing date of Aug. 28, 2018, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

An optical fiber may be characterized by a sensor that injects opticalpulses into the optical fiber. Based on the injected optical pulses, thesensor may extract light that is scattered or reflected back from pointsalong the optical fiber. The scattered or reflected light that isgathered back may be used to characterize the optical fiber. Forexample, the scattered or reflected light that is gathered back may beused to detect, locate, and measure events at any location of theoptical fiber. The events may include faults at any location of theoptical fiber. Other types of features that may be measured by thesensor may include attenuation uniformity and attenuation rate, segmentlength, and location and insertion loss of connectors, splices, or anyother optical components such as splitters or multiplexers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Features of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of examplesshown in the following figures. In the following figures, like numeralsindicate like elements, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an architecture of an optical time-domainreflectometer (OTDR) device, according to an example of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an architecture of an optical head with a wavelengthdivision multiplexing (WDM) coupler and a non-reflective coupling devicesuch as a circulator for the OTDR device of FIG. 1, according to anexample of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a measurement process for the OTDR device of FIG. 1,according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a sensor display of a test including an OTDRacquisition from an optical network terminal (ONT) location, using theOTDR device of FIG. 1, according to an example of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a sensor display of a passed fiber continuity check,using the OTDR device of FIG. 1, according to an example of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a sensor display of a failed fiber continuity check,using the OTDR device of FIG. 1, according to an example of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates bi-directional insertion loss (IL) and opticalcontinuous wave reflectometer-optical return loss (OCWR)-(ORL)measurement using the OTDR device of FIG. 1, according to an example ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates optical fiber length measurement using the OTDRdevice of FIG. 1, according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a measurement principle for point to point topologyfor the OTDR device of FIG. 1, according to an example of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates a measurement principle for a point to multiplepoints topology including optical splitters for the OTDR device of FIG.1, according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a measurement principle for a passive opticalnetwork (PON) topology to characterize optical links (e.g., frommultiple ONTs to one optical line terminal (OLT)) for the OTDR device ofFIG. 1, according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 illustrates a measurement process to characterize fiber to thehome (FTTH) networks for the OTDR device of FIG. 1, according to anexample of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 illustrates application of a bi-directional combined schematicprocess implemented by the OTDR device of FIG. 1, according to anexample of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 illustrates optical event parameter determination by the OTDRdevice of FIG. 1, according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 illustrates a point to point configuration with multiple splicesand connectors between location-A and location-B, for analysis using theOTDR device of FIG. 1, according to an example of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 16 illustrates a sensor display including OTDR results determinedfrom location-A for the configuration of FIG. 15, using the OTDR deviceof FIG. 1, according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 illustrates a sensor display including OTDR results determinedfrom location-B for the configuration of FIG. 15, using the OTDR deviceof FIG. 1, according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 illustrates a sensor display including a bi-directional combinedschematic display of optical events detected and measured fromlocation-A and location-B for the point to point configuration of FIG.15, where the bi-directional combined schematic display is generatedusing the sensor displays of FIGS. 16 and 17, and using the OTDR deviceof FIG. 1, according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 illustrates a sensor display of fiber characterization resultson an OTDR device where acquisition has been started for the point topoint configuration of FIG. 15 and the sensor displays of FIGS. 16 and17, determined using the OTDR device of FIG. 1, according to an exampleof the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 illustrates a PON configuration including splitters (e.g., “1×8”splitters), for analysis using the OTDR device of FIG. 1, according toan example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 illustrates a sensor display including OTDR results from an ONTfor the configuration of FIG. 20, using the OTDR device of FIG. 1,according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 illustrates a sensor display including OTDR results from an OLTfor the configuration of FIG. 20, using the OTDR device of FIG. 1,according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23 illustrates a sensor display including a bi-directional combinedschematic display of optical events detected and measured for the PONconfiguration of FIG. 20, where the bi-directional combined schematicdisplay is generated using the sensor displays of FIGS. 21 and 22, andusing the OTDR device of FIG. 1, according to an example of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 24 illustrates a sensor display of IL and ORL bi-directionalresults and fiber length measurement for the PON configuration of FIG.20 and the sensor displays of FIGS. 21 and 22, determined using the OTDRdevice of FIG. 1, according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 25 illustrates a bi-directional combined schematic display (withadditional optical events determined from OLT to ONT OTDR acquisition)for the PON configuration of FIG. 20 and the sensor displays of FIGS. 21and 22, determined using the OTDR device of FIG. 1, according to anexample of the present disclosure;

FIG. 26 illustrates a PON configuration including splitters (e.g., “1×8”splitters) and a plurality of splices on a ‘feeder’ section, foranalysis using the OTDR device of FIG. 1, according to an example of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 27 illustrates a sensor display including OTDR results from an ONTto an OLT for the configuration of FIG. 26, using the OTDR device ofFIG. 1, according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 28 illustrates a sensor display including OTDR results from an OLTto an ONT for the configuration of FIG. 26, using the OTDR device ofFIG. 1, according to an example of the present disclosure;

FIG. 29 illustrates a sensor display including a bi-directional combinedschematic display of optical events detected and measured for the PONconfiguration of FIG. 26, where the bi-directional combined schematicdisplay is generated using the sensor displays of FIGS. 27 and 28, andusing the OTDR device of FIG. 1, according to an example of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 30 illustrates a computer system, according to an example of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the present disclosure isdescribed by referring mainly to examples thereof. In the followingdescription, details are set forth in order to provide an understandingof the present disclosure. It will be readily apparent however, that thepresent disclosure may be practiced without limitation to these details.In other instances, some methods and structures have not been describedin detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present disclosure.

Throughout the present disclosure, the terms “a” and “an” are intendedto denote at least one of a particular element. As used herein, the term“includes” means includes but not limited to, the term “including” meansincluding but not limited to. The term “based on” means based at leastin part on.

An optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) device is an optoelectronicinstrument used to characterize an optical fiber. The OTDR device mayinject a series of optical pulses into an optical fiber under test.Based on the injected optical pulses, the OTDR device may extract, fromthe same end of the optical fiber in which the optical pulses areinjected, light that is scattered or reflected back from points alongthe optical fiber. The scattered or reflected light that is gatheredback may be used to characterize the optical fiber. For example, thescattered or reflected light that is gathered back may be used todetect, locate, and measure events at any location of the optical fiber.The events may include faults at any location of the optical fiber.Other types of features that may be measured by the OTDR device includeattenuation uniformity and attenuation rate, segment length, bends,fiber end, and location and insertion loss of connectors, splices, orany other optical components such as splitters or multiplexers.

For a device under test (DUT) that may include an optical fiber, an OTDRdevice may be used to perform insertion loss (IL) and optical continuouswave reflectometer-optical return loss (OCWR)-(ORL) measurements, lengthmeasurements, and OTDR measurements. With respect to optical networkdeployments, such as passive optical network (PON) applications that mayuse optical splitters with relatively high attenuation, a bi-directionalOTDR measurement may be needed to provide a complete view of opticalevents along the DUT, and particularly, optical events after asplitter(s) when viewed in a measurement direction. With a single OTDRmeasurement from a given location, it may be technically challenging todetect all optical events due to factors such as limited pulse widthdynamic range and/or resolution.

In order to address at least the aforementioned technical challengesrelated to OTDR measurements, an OTDR device is disclosed herein, andprovides for the performance of multiple and bi-directional opticalmeasurements. Multiple optical measurements may be described asdifferent measurements including OCWR-ORL measurements, IL measurements,OTDR measurements, and any other types of measurements performed by anOTDR device. Bi-directional optical measurements may be described asmeasurements performed in a first direction by an OTDR device disposedat one end (e.g., at location-A) of a DUT towards an OTDR devicedisposed at another end (e.g., at location-B) of the DUT, and vise-versain a second opposite direction (e.g., from the OTDR device disposed atlocation-B to the OTDR device disposed at location-A). The OTDR devicedisclosed herein may provide for the exchange the optical test resultsusing the DUT to provide a complete characterization of the DUT. In thisregard, a first OTDR device may be connected to a first end of the DUTand a second ORDR device may be connected to another end of the DUT,where the DUT may be used to exchange optical test results. Further, asensor display generator of the OTDR device may generate a sensordisplay that may include a bi-directional combined schematic display ofall relevant optical events for DUT.

As disclosed herein, the OTDR device disclosed herein may performbi-directional IL and OCWR-ORL measurements. In this regard, thebi-directional IL and OCWR-ORL measurement results may be exchanged overthe DUT between a first OTDR device at one end of the DUT and a secondOTDR device at another end of the DUT. The bi-directional ILmeasurements may be performed by using an OTDR power meter of the firstOTDR device, and a laser of the second OTDR device, and the OCWR-ORLmeasurements may be performed by using the laser source and power meterof the first OTDR device.

According to examples disclosed herein, the first and second OTDRdevices may each include one or more laser sources.

According to examples disclosed herein, the OTDR device disclosed hereinmay perform a length measurement of the DUT. In this regard, withrespect to the first OTDR device at one end of the DUT and the secondOTDR device at the other end of the DUT, the first and second OTDRdevices may generate pulses (e.g., identical pulses) to measure thelength of the DUT. For a PON topology as disclosed herein, the lengthmeasurement may be performed in the direction of a local OTDR devicedisposed at an ONT to a remote OTDR device disposed at an OLT.

According to examples disclosed herein, the OTDR device disclosed hereinmay perform bi-directional OTDR measurements, where some optical eventsmay be received by the local OTDR device over the DUT from the remoteOTDR device to perform a complete analysis (e.g., to generate thebi-directional combined schematic display). Thus, optical eventsdetected and/or measured by one OTDR device at one end of the DUT (e.g.,at an OLT) may be sent to another OTDR device at another end of the DUT(e.g., at an ONT) to generate a sensor display of all optical eventsbetween the two OTDR devices. In this regard, an optical event may bedetected by determining an existence of the optical event, located bydetermining a physical location of the optical event along the DUT, andmeasured by determining a quantitative value associated with the opticalevent.

According to an example of a fiber to the home (FTTH) network use casedisclosed herein, the DUT may include a plurality of splitters. In thisregard, a first OTDR device connected to a first end of the DUT maydetect and/or measure optical events prior to a splitter, where certainoptical events after the splitter may not be detected and/or measured bythe first OTDR device. Further, a second OTDR device disposed at asecond end of the DUT may detect and/or measure optical events after thesplitter that may not be detected and/or measured by the first OTDRdevice. Thus, the second OTDR device may send the optical events afterthe splitter to the first OTDR device, which, as disclosed herein, maybe used to generate a bi-directional combined schematic display of allrelevant optical events associated with the DUT.

According to examples disclosed herein, the OTDR device disclosed hereinmay include a single port. In this regard, the single port OTDR devicemay be used to fully characterize a DUT (e.g., an optical fiber link),for example, by using bi-directional measurements, with two single portOTDR devices being connected to opposite ends of the DUT. The OTDRdevice disclosed herein may provide for the exchange of all the relevantinformation using the DUT to generate a bi-directional combinedschematic display of all optical events with respect to the DUT.

With respect to the OTDR device disclosed herein, “bi-directionalmeasurements” may be described as performing a bi-directionalIL/OCWR-ORL, fiber length measurement, and a bi-directional OTDRmeasurement using two devices at each end of a DUT, where each OTDRdevice may include a single connection port for connection to the DUT.

The measurement results (e.g., OTDR measurements), as well as opticalevent parameters (e.g., optical event type, attenuation, reflectance,and distance along the DUT) determined by a remote OTDR deviceacquisition (e.g., an OTDR device at one end of a DUT at an OLT) may besent to a local OTDR device (e.g., an OTDR device at another end of theDUT at an ONT), over the DUT, to generate a bi-directional combinedschematic display of a fiber path associated with the DUT, where eachoptical element may be represented by an icon in the bi-directionalcombined schematic display. The aforementioned optical event parametersmay be determined for each optical event as disclosed herein. Forexample, with respect to attenuation, attenuation values as determinedby the local OTDR acquisition, and corresponding attenuation values asdetermined by the remote OTDR acquisition may be averaged to determinefinal attenuation values with respect to the DUT. Similarly, an average,a mean, or another calculated value may be determined for each parameterfor the combined sensor display as disclosed herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an architecture of an OTDR device 100 (hereinafterreferred to as “OTDR device 100”), according to an example of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the OTDR device 100, which may be an OTDR, mayinclude emitting laser diode 102 (or a plurality of emitting laserdiodes as shown in FIG. 1) to generate light by an electrical current.The emitting laser diode 102 may include a semiconductor. According toexamples disclosed herein, the emitting laser diode 102 may include twoemitting laser diodes as illustrated in FIG. 1 (or a single emittinglaser diode 102), where one emitting laser diode may be used for a firstspecified wavelength (e.g., 1310 nm as shown in FIG. 2) and a secondemitting laser diode may be used for a second specified wavelength(e.g., 1550 nm as shown in FIG. 2). In this regard, FIG. 2 alsoillustrates an architecture of an optical head with a wavelengthdivision multiplexing (WDM) coupler and a non-reflective coupling devicesuch as a circulator, where the WDM may multiplex a number of opticalcarrier signals onto a single DUT (e.g., a single optical fiber) byusing different wavelengths (e.g., colors) of laser light.

A pulse generator 104 may control a laser diode the sends light pulsesinto an optical fiber 106 under test (also generally designated DUT).

A time base control unit 108 may control operations of the OTDR device100. The time base control unit 108 may analyze, for a laser beam, abackscattered signal from the optical fiber 106.

A sensor display generator 110 may analyze data received from variouscomponents of the OTDR device 100, as well as data received from anotherOTDR device (e.g., a remote OTDR device disposed at an OLT as disclosedherein) to generate a sensor display 112 including a bi-directionalcombined schematic view of optical events along the optical fiber 106.

The sensor display 112 may display measured characteristics of theoptical fiber 106, for example, in the form of traces and otherattributes as disclosed herein.

A photodiode detector 114 may analyze the return signal from the opticalfiber 106 under test to generate a signal proportional to the intensityof an optical field.

A sampling ADC averaging block at 116 may be analyze the amplifiedreturn signal from amplifier 118 to also generate a display at thesensor display 112.

As disclosed herein, a first OTDR device (e.g., OTDR-1) may be connectedto one (e.g., a local or near end at an ONT) end of the optical fiber106, and a second OTDR device (OTDR-2) may be connected to another(e.g., a far end at an OLT) end of the optical fiber 106.

According to examples disclosed herein, the OTDR device 100 may includea single connection port for connecting to the optical fiber 106 forperforming the IL, OCWR-ORL, fiber length, and OTDR measurements asdisclosed herein. The single connection port may eliminate the need forrepetitive connection/disconnection of the optical fiber 106 and thusavoid any additional uncertainty.

The emitting laser diode 102 (or diodes) with multiple wavelengths maybe used in a continuous mode (e.g., without any pulse generator) at aknown power level. Further, the photodiode detector 114 (e.g., anavalanche photodiode (APD) as shown in FIG. 2), may measure receivedpower.

The IL and OCWR-ORL measurements may be performed at the same time byeach OTDR device 100 since each OTDR device 100 (e.g., using anon-reflective coupling device as a circulator) may be non-reflective.In this regard, assuming that the remote optical head is non-reflective,the local OTDR device may be able to perform the OCWR-ORL measurementwithout any additional reflectance (because the remote OTDR is connectedto the far end of the optical fiber 106). Thus IL measurement may beperformed on the remote OTDR device (while the local OTDR device ismeasuring OCWR-ORL) because there is no need to bypass the reflectivityof the remote optical head.

The OTDR device 100 may implement frequency modulation (e.g., from a fewhundred Hz to several tens of kHz) during laser emission, for example,for recognizing the wavelength emitted from a far end OTDR device (e.g.,an OTDR device at a far end of the optical fiber 106 at an OLT), at alocal OTDR device (e.g., an OTDR device at a near end of the opticalfiber 106 at an ONT). Alternatively or additionally, the OTDR device 100may implement frequency modulation to synchronize measurement flowbetween the two OTDR devices (e.g., the OTDR devices at the far and nearends of the optical fiber 106) using flags with predeterminedfrequencies. Alternatively or additionally, the OTDR device 100 mayimplement frequency modulation due to frequency encoding, for example,to send OTDR results such as optical event parameters includingattenuation, reflectance, distance, optical event type, fiber length,IL, OCWR-ORL, etc.).

FIG. 3 illustrates a measurement process for the OTDR device 100,according to an example of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 3,in order for the OTDR device 100 to perform measurements from both endsof the optical fiber 106, and to exchange the measurement setup and allof the results, the measurement process may be defined as illustrated toinclude, at a location-A of the optical fiber 106 (which may be an ONT),sending (e.g., by the sensor display generator 110 of a first OTDRdevice (e.g., OTDR-1)), at 300, setup information associated with thefirst OTDR device to the sensor display generator 110 of a second OTDRdevice (e.g., OTDR-2) at a location-B of the optical fiber 106 (whichmay be an OLT)). At 320, the sensor display generator 110 of the secondOTDR device may receive the setup information associated with the firstOTDR device. The setup information may include acquisition parameters(e.g., wavelength used, type of measurement (IL, OCWR-ORL, fiber length,OTDR)), and link information (e.g., fiber number, fiber identification,cable identification, network topology, etc.).

At 302, the first OTDR device may perform OCWR-ORL measurements withrespect to the optical fiber 106 in the direction from location-A tolocation-B. Further, at 322, the second OTDR device may perform ILmeasurements with respect to the optical fiber 106 in the direction fromlocation-B to location-A.

At 304, the first OTDR device may send the OCWR-ORL measurementsperformed at 302 to the second OTDR device. Similarly, at 324, thesecond OTDR device may send the IL measurements performed at 322 to thefirst OTDR device. In this regard, the sensor display generator 110 ofeach respective OTDR may send and receive the aforementionedmeasurements performed by the OTDRs.

At 306, the first OTDR device may perform IL measurements with respectto the optical fiber 106 in the direction from location-A to location-B.Similarly, at 326, the second OTDR device may perform OCWR-ORLmeasurements with respect to the optical fiber in the direction fromlocation-B to location-A.

At 308, the first OTDR device may send the IL measurements performed at306 to the second OTDR device. Similarly, at 328, the second OTDR maysend the OCWR-ORL measurements performed at 326 to the first OTDRdevice. In this regard, the sensor display generator 110 of eachrespective OTDR device may send and receive the aforementionedmeasurements performed by the OTDR devices.

At 310 and 330, the first OTDR device may operate in conjunction withthe second OTDR device to perform fiber length measurement with respectto the optical fiber 106 in the direction from location-A to location-B.In this regard, at 312 and 332, as disclosed herein, appropriate datamay be exchanged between the first OTDR device and the second OTDRdevice to perform the fiber length measurement at 310 and 330.

At 314, the first OTDR device may perform OTDR acquisition with respectto the optical fiber 106 in the direction from location-A to location-B.At 334, the second OTDR device may be placed in a waiting mode duringthe OTDR acquisition by the first OTDR device.

At 316, the second OTDR device may perform OTDR acquisition with respectto the optical fiber 106 in the direction from location-B to location-A.At 316, the first OTDR device may be placed in a waiting mode during theOTDR acquisition by the second OTDR device.

At 338, the second OTDR device may send the OTDR acquisition performedat 336 to the first OTDR device. At 318, the first OTDR device mayreceive the OTDR acquisition performed at 336 by the second OTDR device.In this regard, the sensor display generator 110 of the second OTDRdevice may send the OTDR acquisition performed at 336 to the sensordisplay generator 110 of the first OTDR device, which, at 318, mayreceive the OTDR acquisition performed at 336.

According to examples disclosed herein, for the OTDR device 100 (e.g.,the first and second OTDR devices), the measurement process disclosedwith respect to FIG. 3 may be commenced by actuation of a measurementstart switch (not shown). In this regard, the measurement start switchmay be actuated independently on the first and second OTDR devices.During the measurement, a current test may be displayed on the sensordisplay 112 of the corresponding OTDR device, and the sensor display 112may include a result table and a schematic view that may be populatedonce the measurement results have been received (e.g., by the first orlocal OTDR device).

FIG. 4 illustrates a sensor display of a test including an OTDRacquisition from an ONT location, using the OTDR device 100, accordingto an example of the present disclosure. In this regard, an operator maycommence a measurement process when the first OTDR device and the secondOTDR device are optically connected to the optical fiber 106. Withrespect to FIG. 4, the locations of the first and second OTDR devicesmay be reversed compared to the locations illustrated in FIG. 4. Thus,for each of the examples disclosed herein with respect to FIGS. 1 to 30,the designations first OTDR device and second OTDR device are merelyused as reference labels for different OTDR devices, and do nototherwise limit or define the functionality of an OTDR device. Moreover,as disclosed herein with respect to the sensor display 112, IL fromlocation-B to location-A is displayed at 400, IL from location-A tolocation-B is displayed at 402, and average IL is displayed at 404.Further, OCWR-ORL from location-A to location-B is displayed at 406, andOCWR-ORL from location-B to location-A is displayed at 408.

FIG. 5 illustrates a sensor display of a passed fiber continuity check,using the OTDR device 100, according to an example of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 6 illustrates a sensor display of a failed fibercontinuity check, using the OTDR device 100, according to an example ofthe present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the sensor display generator 110 of the OTDRdevice may perform a “fiber continuity check” operation by sending andreceiving a “flag” with a dedicated frequency modulation to check theconnectivity status between the first and second OTDR devices that areto be connected to the optical fiber 106. As shown in FIG. 5, once theflags are continuously detected by a remote unit (e.g., the second OTDRdevice connected to a far end of the optical fiber 106), the connectionmay be established (e.g., “pass” status displayed), and a user maycommence the measurement process. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6,absent the establishment of a connection, a “fail” status may bedisplayed at the first OTDR device (e.g., the OTDR device connected to anear end of the optical fiber 106).

As disclosed herein, the OTDR device as disclosed herein may provide forthe performance of multiple and bi-directional optical measurements.With respect to bi-directional IL measurements, in order to measureoverall attenuation in the optical fiber 106, a known level of light maybe injected in one end of the optical fiber 106, and a level of lightthat exits at the other end of the optical fiber 106 may be measured.Alternatively, an insertion loss technique may be used to measure theattenuation across the optical fiber 106, a passive component, or anoptical link. Alternatively, with a substitution technique, the outputfrom a source fiber and a reference fiber may be measured directly, anda measurement may be obtained with the optical fiber 106 being added fortesting. The difference between the two results may provide theattenuation of the optical fiber 106. The IL measurement may beperformed by using two OTDR devices (using the emitting laser diode 102(in continuous mode) and the photodiode detector 114 used as a ‘builtin’ power meter), with both light sources and the power meter beingconnected to the same port.

With respect to OCWR-ORL measurement, in order to measure the OCWR-ORL,an optical continuous wave reflectometer technique may be used, wherethe light source (e.g., the emitting laser diode 102) may launch asingle wavelength of light at a known power level (PO) into the opticalfiber 106. Assuming a reference optical measurement using anon-reflective termination plug, the OCWR-ORL may be determined aftermeasuring the level of reflected optical power in the optical fiber 106.Using two OTDR devices, both light sources and the power meter may beconnected to the same port.

FIG. 7 illustrates bi-directional IL and OCWR-ORL measurement using theOTDR device 100, according to an example of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, for the OTDR device 100 disclosed herein, thebi-directional IL and OCWR-ORL measurements may be performed at the sametime since the remote optical connection is non-reflective. For example,as shown in FIG. 7, a circulator may be used to avoid any highreflectance.

For the bi-directional IL and OCWR-ORL measurements, when the OTDRdevice #1 is emitting, OCWR-ORL measurement may be performed at thelocation-A while IL measurement may be performed by OTDR device #2 atthe location-B. Further, when OTDR device #2 is emitting, OCWR-ORLmeasurement may be performed at the location-B while IL measurement maybe performed by OTDR device #1 at the location-A.

FIG. 8 illustrates optical fiber length measurement using the OTDRdevice 100, according to an example of the present disclosure.

With respect to optical fiber length measurement, optical fiber lengthmeasurement may be based on propagation time measurement using two OTDRdevices at opposite ends of the optical fiber 106. In this regard,optical pulses may be generated continuously from both ends of theoptical fiber 106, and the fiber length measurement may be performed.Further, OTDR acquisition parameters may be specified to be the same toperform this measurement.

With respect to bi-directional OTDR measurement, the OTDR device 100 maydetect, locate, and measure optical events at any location on theoptical fiber 106. The ability of the OTDR device 100 to characterizethe optical fiber 106 may be based on detecting relatively small signalsthat are returned to the OTDR device 100 in response to the injection oflarge signal. In this regard, the OTDR device 100 may depend on opticalphenomena that may include Rayleigh scattering and Fresnel reflections.The OTDR device 100 may inject light energy into the optical fiber 106through the emitting laser diode 102 and the pulse generator 104. Thereturning light energy may be separated using a coupler/circulator, andmay be fed to the photodiode detector 114. The optical signal may beconverted to an electrical value, amplified, sampled, and displayed onthe sensor display 112. The sensor display generator 110 may read theacquisitions points, perform the averaging calculations, plot these as alogarithmic function, and display the results on the sensor display 112representing the backscatter signature of the trace. Using sequentiallytwo OTDR devices at both ends of the optical fiber 106 may provide forcharacterization of an associated optical network under test.

FIG. 9 illustrates a measurement principle for point to point topologyfor the OTDR device 100, according to an example of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, a first OTDR device is shown at location-A at 900,and a second OTDR device is shown at location-B at 902. The DUT mayinclude the optical fiber 106.

FIG. 10 illustrates a measurement principle for a point to multiplepoints topology including optical splitters for the OTDR device 100,according to an example of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 10, a first OTDR device is shown at location-A at1000, and a second OTDR device is shown at location-B at 1002.Location-A may correspond to an ONT, and location-B may correspond to anOLT. The DUT may include the optical fiber 106. The point to multiplepoints topology may include splitters at 1004.

FIG. 11 illustrates a measurement principle for a passive opticalnetwork (PON) topology to characterize optical links (e.g., frommultiple ONTs to one optical line terminal (OLT)) for the OTDR device100, according to an example of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11, in a similar manner as FIG. 10, an OTDR device maybe located at an OLT at 1100, and an OTDR device may be located at anONT (e.g., ONT-1) at 1102 (note that the ONT and OLT orientations arereversed compared to the orientation of FIG. 10). In this regard, theOTDR devices may be used to measure and/or detect optical events withrespect to the fiber connection that links these OTDR devices. The OTDRdevice located at the OLT at 1100 may be retained in place, and the OTDRdevice located at the ONT (e.g., ONT-1) at 1102 may be moved to the ONT(e.g., ONT-2) at 1104, and these OTDR devices may be used to measureand/or detect optical events with respect to the fiber connection thatlinks these OTDR devices. In this manner, the optical fibers for theentire network at 1106 may be analyzed to measure and/or detect opticalevents with respect to the network at 1106.

FIG. 12 illustrates a measurement process to characterize fiber to thehome (FTTH) networks for the OTDR device 100, according to an example ofthe present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, with respect to an FTTH use case for a PONtopology, a first OTDR device may be located on the ONT side as shownand a second OTDR device may be located on the OLT side (e.g., as shownas an “OLT unit” in FIG. 12). In this regard, the same OTDR device thatis used for ONT-1 may be used for each of the remaining ONTs (e.g.,ONT-1, ONT-2, . . . , ONT-8 for a “1×8” splitter S2). As disclosedherein, the IL/OCWR-ORL, DUT length, and OTDR measurements may beperformed in both directions (e.g., from the OLT to each ONT, and fromeach ONT to the OLT). In this case, some of the optical events that aredetected and/or measured by the OTDR device located at the OLT may besent to the OTDR device located at an ONT to generate a bi-directionalcombined schematic display including all relevant optical events seenfrom both sides of the DUT, which may represent an optical fiber thatlinks an ONT to an OLT. The measurement process to characterize FTTHnetworks may be replicated for each ONT location to characterize theentire network that connects each ONT to the OLT.

According to examples disclosed herein, a measurement process withoutany optical connection/disconnection (e.g., a “single actuation switchpressed” test) may be implemented as follows.

With respect to measurements performed from an ONTx (e.g., one of ONT-1,ONT-2, . . . , ONT-8, for Splitter-S2 being a “1×8” splitter) to the OLTas shown in FIG. 12, the measurements may include IL measurement,OCWR-ORL measurement, fiber length measurement, and OTDR measurement.

With respect to measurements performed from the OLT to an ONTx (e.g.,one of ONT-1, ONT-2, ONT-) as shown in FIG. 12, the measurements mayinclude IL measurement, OCWR-ORL measurement, fiber length measurement,and OTDR measurement (e.g., from OLT to Splitter-S1). The OTDRmeasurement may be performed once for each ONT.

OTDR acquisition from an ONT to the OLT may be performed for each ONTbecause the ONTs may not be located in the same location. OTDRacquisition from the OLT to each ONT may be performed once as theoptical path may be the same (e.g., from the OLT to the firstSplitter-S1). OTDR acquisitions may be managed by the measurementprocess. For example, an OTDR acquisition from the OLT may be performedonce (e.g., for each OLT), with these results being retained in memoryand used for each ONT measurement.

As shown in FIG. 12, various optical elements are shown between thefirst OTDR device, for example, at ONT-1 and Splitter-S1. Further,various optical elements are shown between the Splitter-S1 and theSplitter-S2, and between the Splitter-S2 and the second OTDR device. Theoptical elements may include connectors (e.g., at 1200, 1202, 1204,1206, 1208, and 1210), and splices (e.g., at 1212, 1214, 1216, 1218, and1220), and a bend at 1222.

As disclosed herein, a sensor display 112 may display measuredcharacteristics of the optical fiber 106, for example, in the form oftraces and other attributes. In order to generate the sensor display112, the sensor display generator 110 may implement a bi-directionalcombined schematic process to generate the sensor display 112 that mayinclude a bi-directional combined schematic display at a local location(e.g., ONT location assuming a PON topology). In this regard, the sensordisplay generator 110 may implement the bi-directional combinedschematic process to display the relevant optical events detected and/ormeasured along the optical fiber 106.

The bi-directional combined schematic process implemented by the sensordisplay generator 110 may provide information with respect to opticalevents physically present along the optical fiber 106 (e.g., splices,connectors, splitters, bends), and may further determine opticalparameters for each event (e.g., optical event type, distance,attenuation, and reflectance).

As disclosed herein, certain detections and measurements may beperformed in both directions. Further, based on an assumption that someevents may not be seen by both OTDR devices (e.g., because of splitterattenuation versus OTDR dynamic specification for example), the sensordisplay generator 110 may generate the sensor display 112 of all of theoptical events detected and measured in both directions (e.g.,combination) at one side (e.g., at one of the OTDR devices).

For the bi-directional combined schematic process implemented by thesensor display generator 110, optical event parameters measured on theremote OTDR device (e.g., the OTDR device at an OLT) may be transmittedto the local OTDR device (e.g., the OTDR device at an ONT) over theoptical fiber 106.

In order for the sensor display generator 110 to generate the sensordisplay 112, the sensor display generator 110 may analyze informationsuch as OTDR optical event parameters (e.g., position, attenuation,reflectance, optical event type, etc.) detected and/or measured at alocal location (ONT location assuming a PON topology) by an OTDR deviceat the local location. The analyzed information may further include theOTDR optical event parameters detected and/or measured at a remotelocation (e.g., OLT location for a PON topology) by an OTDR device atthe remote location. Some or all of the analyzed information at the OTDRdevice at the remote location (e.g., OLT location for a PON topology)may be sent to the OTDR device at the local location (e.g., ONT locationfor a PON topology) over the optical fiber 106. Considering multiplewavelength acquisitions, the analyzed information may further includeOTDR optical event parameters that may be sent for each wavelength usedduring the OTDR acquisition. The analyzed information may furtherinclude fiber length measurement for the optical fiber 106. The analyzedinformation may further include OTDR acquisition parameters (e.g., pulsewidth, resolution, etc.) used during the local acquisition (e.g., ONTlocation assuming a PON topology). The analyzed information may furtherinclude OTDR acquisition parameters (e.g., pulse width, resolution,etc.) used during the remote acquisition (e.g., OLT location assuming aPON topology), and sent over the optical fiber 106.

FIG. 13 illustrates application of a bi-directional combined schematicprocess implemented by the OTDR device 100, according to an example ofthe present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 13, optical events identified based on OTDRacquisition from location-A to location-B are shown at 1300, opticalevents identified based on OTDR acquisition from location-B tolocation-A are shown at 1302, and results of application of thebi-directional combined schematic process implemented by the sensordisplay generator 110 are shown at 1304. In this regard, the fiberlength measurement of the optical fiber 106 may be used to locateoptical events from location-A as shown at 1304. At 1304, events #1, #2,and #3 correspond directly to events #1, #2, and #3 at 1300. At 1304,events #4 and #5 correspond to events #2′ and #1′, where the location-Borientation is reversed as shown at 1306.

The optical events detected and/or measured during the second OTDRmeasurement (e.g., from location-B) may be determined with theappropriate distance (e.g., origin from location-A instead of originfrom location-B). In order to determine the new distance (dx) parameterfor each optical event, the fiber length measurement for the opticalfiber 106 may be utilized. The fiber length (L) may be obtained, forexample, from fiber length measurement (e.g., determine during fiberlength measurement, if available) or, as an end of fiber (EOF) opticalevent measured during OTDR location-A measurement (if available). Forexample, in order to determine the new distance d5 (e.g., optical eventdistance for event #5):d5=f(d′1,L), where

-   -   d′1: Optical event distance for event #1′ measured for event        #1′.    -   L: Fiber length measurement.        In order to validate if an optical event (dx) is new (e.g.,        additional optical event), the optical event type and the        optical distance (e.g., according a given distance uncertainty        (delta d)) may be specified to not be the same compared to any        existing optical event as follows:

di: Optical event distance measured for event #i

d5: Optical event distance determined for event #5

delta d: Optical distance uncertaintyd5−delta d<=di<=d5+delta d, wheredeltad=f(pw1,pw2,res1,res2).

-   -   With pw1, res1: OTDR pulse width and resolution used at        location-A    -   Further, pw2, res2: OTDR pulse width and resolution used at        location-B.

According to an example, the sensor display generator 110 of the OTDRdevice that performed the acquisition may implement measurement qualitycriteria. Thus, all of the optical events may be sent from the OTDRdevice at the remote location (OLT location assuming a PON topology) tothe OTDR device at the local location (ONT location assuming a PONtopology). In order to provide relevant optical events, some of theseevents may be filtered and/or deleted, and not sent to the locallocation (e.g., to not be displayed in the sensor display 112 includingthe bi-directional combined schematic display).

Some of the optical events sent from the OTDR device at the remotelocation (e.g., OLT location assuming a PON topology) to the OTDR deviceat the local location (e.g., ONT location assuming a PON topology) mayalso be filtered and/or deleted directly at the local location (e.g., tonot be displayed in the sensor display 112 including the bi-directionalcombined schematic display).

The following quality criteria may be implemented by the OTDR device atthe local location (e.g., ONT location assuming a PON topology), and theOTDR device at the remote location (e.g., OLT location assuming a PONtopology) to retain relevant optical events.

According to an example, the sensor display generator 110 may implementthe quality criteria based on optical event position (e.g., opticalevents located after and/or before a splitter may be filtered). Forexample, assuming a PON topology, all optical events received from theOTDR device at the OLT location and located (e.g., according to theoptical distance parameter) before the first splitter (e.g., to the leftof splitter S1 in the orientation of FIG. 12) may be filtered and/ordeleted. Furthermore, assuming a PON topology, all optical eventsdetected and/or measured at the ONT location, and located (e.g.,according to the optical distance parameter) after the first splitter(e.g., to the right of splitter S1 in the orientation of FIG. 12) mayalso be filtered and/or deleted.

According to another example, the sensor display generator 110 mayimplement the quality criteria based on optical event type (e.g., “endof fiber” event is not relevant). For example, for a PON topology, an“end of fiber” event may not be sent to the OTDR device at the locallocation, as the measurement is performed from the OTDR device at theOLT side and the “end of fiber” event may not be relevant with thissetup (e.g., do to multiple splitter branches).

With respect to the sensor display 112 that includes the bi-directionalcombined schematic display, assuming that the same optical event may bedetected by both bi-directional OTDR measurements (e.g., optical eventat the same position and distance), the sensor display generator 110 maymodify the optical event parameters (e.g., optical event type, distance,attenuation, reflectance, etc.) by identifying the most optimumparameter, and/or determining the average value. For example, withrespect to the sensor display 112 that includes the bi-directionalcombined schematic display, the sensor display generator 110 maydetermine optical event attenuation as a mean value of optical eventattenuations determined by the OTDR devices located at the opposite endsof the optical fiber 106. With respect to optical event reflectance, thesensor display generator 110 may determine optical event reflectance asa worst value (e.g., highest reflectance) of optical event reflectancevalues determined by the OTDR devices located at the opposite ends ofthe optical fiber 106. Similarly, optical event distance may bedetermined as the local optical event distance with respect to the OTDRdevice at the local ONT location for a PON topology, and optical eventtype may be determined as the local optical event type with respect tothe OTDR device at the local ONT location for a PON topology.

FIG. 14 illustrates optical event parameter determination by the OTDRdevice 100, according to an example of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 14, considering than two given optical events are thesame, optical attenuation value may be determined as the mean value,optical reflectance may be determined as the highest reflectance, andoptical distance may represent the local distance. For example, sinceevents #1, #2, and #3 are the same as events #3′, #2′, and #1′, as shownat 1400, optical attenuation value may be determined as the mean value,optical reflectance may be determined as the highest reflectance, andoptical distance may represent the local distance.

Referring next to FIGS. 15-19, a point to point use case is described.

FIG. 15 illustrates a point to point configuration with multiple splicesand connectors between location-A and location-B, for analysis using theOTDR device 100, according to an example of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 15, the point to point configuration may includemultiple connectors (e.g., at 1500, 1502, 1504, 1506, 1508, and 1510),and splices (e.g., at 1512, 1514, and 1516) between location-A andlocation-B.

FIG. 16 illustrates a sensor display including OTDR results determinedfrom location-A for the configuration of FIG. 15, using the OTDR device100, according to an example of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 16, the sensor display 112 shows all optical eventsthat have been detected and/or measured from location-A to location-B,for example, for the ORDR device at location-A. For example, for thesplice at 4936.66 m, the IL may be specified as 4.568 dB.

FIG. 17 illustrates a sensor display including OTDR results determinedfrom location-B for the configuration of FIG. 15, using the OTDR device100, according to an example of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 17, the sensor display 112 shows all optical eventsthat have been detected and/or measured from location-B to location-A,for example, for the ORDR device at location-B. For example, the spliceshown in FIG. 16 at 4936.66 m is shown at 610.10 m (e.g., when viewedfrom location-B), and includes an IL specified as 4.665 dB.

FIG. 18 illustrates a sensor display including a bi-directional combinedschematic display of optical events detected and measured fromlocation-A and location-B for the point to point configuration of FIG.15, where the bi-directional combined schematic display is generatedusing the sensor displays of FIGS. 16 and 17, and using the OTDR device100, according to an example of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 18, the sensor display generator 110 (e.g., for theOTDR device at location-A) may combine both optical measurement resultsfor FIGS. 16 and 17 to generate the sensor display 112 of FIG. 18, whichmay include a bi-directional combined schematic display with opticalevents detected and/or measured from both sides of the optical fiber106. In this regard, the bi-directional combined schematic display withoptical events detected and/or measured from both sides of the opticalfiber 106 may include parameters such as average value for attenuation,a worst reflectance (e.g., highest reflectance), both distances or thedistance measured from a local device (e.g., the OTDR at location-A).For example, the splice shown in FIG. 16 at 4936.66 m is shown again inFIG. 18 at 1800.

FIG. 19 illustrates a sensor display of fiber characterization resultson an OTDR device where acquisition has been started for the point topoint configuration of FIG. 15 and the sensor displays of FIGS. 16 and17, determined using the OTDR device 100, according to an example of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 19, based on the exchange of measurement results overthe optical fiber 106, the sensor display generator 110 (e.g., of theOTDR device at location-A) may implement the bi-directional combinedschematic process to generate the sensor display 112 of the fibercharacterization results, on the device where the acquisition has beenstarted. In this regard, the sensor display 112 of FIG. 19 may bedisplayed in addition to or in place of the sensor display 112 of FIG.18. The sensor display 112 of FIG. 19 may include OTDR results thatinclude distance at 1900, attenuation at 1902, and reflectance at 1904associated with each optical event. With respect to FIG. 19, thereflectance at 1904 is not shown because the reflectance parameter isnot available for a splice as the splice may represent a non-reflectiveoptical event. For example, for the splice shown in FIG. 16 at 4936.66m, the average IL of 4.619 dB at 1902 is based on the IL from FIG. 16 of4.568 dB and the IL from FIG. 17 of 4.665 dB.

Referring next to FIGS. 20-25, a point to multiple points use case isdescribed.

FIG. 20 illustrates a PON configuration including splitters (e.g., “1×8”splitters), for analysis using the OTDR device 100, according to anexample of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 20, the PON configuration including splitters mayinclude two “1×8” splitters at 2000 and 2002. Further, the PONconfiguration may include multiple splices (e.g., at 2004, 2006, 2008,2010, and 2012), and connectors (e.g., at 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022,and 2024) between location-A (e.g., ONT) and location-B (e.g., OLT).

FIG. 21 illustrates a sensor display including OTDR results from an ONTfor the configuration of FIG. 20, using the OTDR device 100, accordingto an example of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 21, most of the optical events may be detected and/ormeasured, except the last optical event (e.g., event #9 of FIG. 20).Moreover, event #6, splitter S1 is shown to include an IL of 9.339 dB at2100.

FIG. 22 illustrates a sensor display including OTDR results from an OLTfor the configuration of FIG. 20, using the OTDR device 100, accordingto an example of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 20 and 22, the optical events before the first 1×8splitter (S1) at 2002 may be detected and/or measured (e.g., events #7,#8, and #9 in FIG. 20). According to the dynamic of the pulse widthused, the first splitter may be detected and/or measured as an ‘end offiber’ optical event.

FIG. 23 illustrates a sensor display including a bi-directional combinedschematic display of optical events detected and measured for the PONconfiguration of FIG. 20, where the bi-directional combined schematicdisplay is generated using the sensor displays of FIGS. 21 and 22, andusing the OTDR device 100, according to an example of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 23, the sensor display generator 110 (e.g., for theOTDR device at location-A) may combine both optical measurement resultsfor FIGS. 21 and 22 to generate the sensor display 112 of FIG. 23, whichmay include a bi-directional combined schematic display with opticalevents detected and/or measured from both sides of the optical fiber106.

FIG. 24 illustrates a sensor display of IL and ORL bi-directionalresults and fiber length measurement for the PON configuration of FIG.20 and the sensor displays of FIGS. 21 and 22, determined using the OTDRdevice 100, according to an example of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 24, based on the exchange of measurement results overthe optical fiber 106, the sensor display generator 110 (e.g., of theOTDR device at location-A) may implement the bi-directional combinedschematic process to generate the sensor display 112 of the fibercharacterization results, on the device where the acquisition has beenstarted (e.g., the OTDR device at location-A). In this regard, thesensor display 112 of FIG. 24 may be displayed in addition to or inplace of the sensor display 112 of FIG. 23. Moreover, IL from location-Bto location-A is displayed at 2400, IL from location-A to location-B isdisplayed at 2402, and average IL is displayed at 2404. Further,OCWR-ORL from location-A to location-B is displayed at 2406, andOCWR-ORL from location-B to location-A is displayed at 2408.

FIG. 25 illustrates a bi-directional combined schematic display (withadditional optical events determined from OLT to ONT OTDR acquisition)for the PON configuration of FIG. 20 and the sensor displays of FIGS. 21and 22, determined using the OTDR device 100, according to an example ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 25 shows similar information as shown inFIG. 23, but with further details associated with each optical event.

Referring next to FIGS. 26-29, another point to point use case isdescribed.

FIG. 26 illustrates a PON configuration including splitters (e.g., “1×8”splitters) and a plurality of splices on a ‘feeder’ section, foranalysis using the OTDR device 100, according to an example of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 26, the PON configuration including splitters mayinclude two “1×8” splitters at 2600 and 2602. Further, the PONconfiguration may include multiple splices (e.g., at 2604, 2606, 2608,2610, 2612, 2614, and 2616) between location-A (e.g., ONT) andlocation-B (e.g., OLT). Connectors may be disposed at 2618, 2620, 2622,2624, and 2626.

FIG. 27 illustrates a sensor display including OTDR results from an ONTfor the configuration of FIG. 26, using the OTDR device 100, accordingto an example of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 27, most of the optical events after the 1×8 splitter(S1) at 2602 may not be detected (e.g., all events except the eventidentified at 2612 are not detected).

FIG. 28 illustrates a sensor display including OTDR results from an OLTfor the configuration of FIG. 26, using the OTDR device 100, accordingto an example of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 28, the optical events before the first 1×8 splitter(S1) at 2602 may be detected and/or measured. For example, events #5,#6, #7, #8, #10, and #11 may be correctly detected and/or measured.Further, according to the dynamic of the pulse width used, the firstsplitter at 2602 may be detected and/or measured as an ‘end of fiber’optical event, and may not be sent to the local OTDR device at the ONT.

FIG. 29 illustrates a sensor display including a bi-directional combinedschematic display of optical events detected and measured for the PONconfiguration of FIG. 26, where the bi-directional combined schematicdisplay is generated using the sensor displays of FIGS. 27 and 28, andusing the OTDR device 100, according to an example of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 29, the sensor display generator 110 (e.g., for theOTDR device at location-A) may combine both optical measurement resultsfor FIGS. 27 and 28 to generate the sensor display 112 of FIG. 29, whichmay include a bi-directional combined schematic display with opticalevents detected and/or measured from both sides of the optical fiber106.

FIG. 30 shows a computer system 3000 that may be used with the examplesdescribed herein. The computer system may represent a generic platformthat includes components that may be in a server or another computersystem. The computer system 3000 may be used as part of a platform forthe sensor display generator 110. The computer system 3000 may execute,by a processor (e.g., a single or multiple processors) or other hardwareprocessing circuit, the methods, functions and other processes describedherein. These methods, functions and other processes may be embodied asmachine readable instructions stored on a computer readable medium,which may be non-transitory, such as hardware storage devices (e.g., RAM(random access memory), ROM (read only memory), EPROM (erasable,programmable ROM), EEPROM (electrically erasable, programmable ROM),hard drives, and flash memory).

The computer system 3000 may include a processor 3002 that may implementor execute machine readable instructions performing some or all of themethods, functions and other processes described herein. Commands anddata from the processor 3002 may be communicated over a communicationbus 3004. The computer system may also include a main memory 3006, suchas a random access memory (RAM), where the machine readable instructionsand data for the processor 3002 may reside during runtime, and asecondary data storage 3008, which may be non-volatile and storesmachine readable instructions and data. The memory and data storage areexamples of computer readable mediums. The memory 3006 may include thesensor display generator 110 including machine readable instructionsresiding in the memory 3006 during runtime and executed by the processor3002.

The computer system 3000 may include an I/O device 3010, such as akeyboard, a mouse, a display, etc. The computer system may include anetwork interface 3012 for connecting to a network. Other knownelectronic components may be added or substituted in the computersystem.

The processor 3002 may be designated as a hardware processor. Theprocessor 3002 may execute operations associated with various componentsof the OTDR device 100. For example, the processor 3002 may executeoperations associated with the sensor display generator 110, etc.

According to examples disclosed herein, the processor 3002 may executeoperations associated with the sensor display generator 110 to emit, bya laser source of the OTDR device 100, a laser beam into a DUT (e.g.,the optical fiber 106). The OTDR device 100 may include a connectionport to connect the OTDR device 100 to a first end of the DUT, where theOTDR device 100 may be designated a first OTDR device. The sensordisplay generator 110 may determine, based on the laser beam, a lengthof the DUT. Further, the sensor display generator 110 may receive, froma second OTDR device connectable to a second opposite end of the DUT,and over the DUT, OTDR information acquired by the second OTDR device,where the OTDR information may include an identification of opticalevents with respect to the DUT in a direction from the second OTDRdevice towards the first OTDR device. Further, the sensor displaygenerator 110 may ascertain, based on acquisition by the first OTDRdevice, further OTDR information that includes an identification ofoptical events with respect to the DUT in a direction from the firstOTDR device towards the second OTDR device. The sensor display generator110 may generate, based on the determined length of the DUT, the OTDRinformation received, over the DUT, by the first OTDR device, and thefurther OTDR information acquired by the first OTDR device, abi-directional combined schematic display that includes relevant opticalevents with respect to the DUT.

According to examples disclosed herein, the sensor display generator 110may generate the bi-directional combined schematic display that includesthe relevant optical events with respect to the DUT by receiving, fromthe second OTDR device and over the DUT, a first set of OTDR opticalevent parameters for each optical event identified in the OTDRinformation that includes the identification of the optical events withrespect to the DUT in the direction from the second OTDR device towardsthe first OTDR device, where the first set of OTDR optical eventparameters may include position, attenuation, reflectance, and/oroptical event type associated with the optical events identified by thesecond OTDR device. The sensor display generator 110 may ascertain,based on acquisition by the first OTDR device, a second set of OTDRoptical event parameters for each optical event identified in thefurther OTDR information that includes the identification of the opticalevents with respect to the DUT in the direction from the first OTDRdevice towards the second OTDR device, where the second set of OTDRoptical event parameters may include position, attenuation, reflectance,and/or optical event type associated with the optical events identifiedby the first OTDR device. The sensor display generator 110 may receive,from the second OTDR device and over the DUT, a first set of OTDRacquisition parameters associated with the OTDR information thatincludes the identification of the optical events with respect to theDUT in the direction from the second OTDR device towards the first OTDRdevice, where the first set of OTDR acquisition parameters may includepulse width and/or resolution used during acquisition by the second OTDRdevice. The sensor display generator 110 may ascertain, based ondetermination by the first OTDR device, a second set of OTDR acquisitionparameters associated with the further OTDR information that includesthe identification of the optical events with respect to the DUT in thedirection from the first OTDR device towards the second OTDR device,where the second set of OTDR acquisition parameters may include pulsewidth and/or resolution used during the acquisition by the first OTDRdevice. The sensor display generator 110 may generate, based on thedetermined length of the DUT, the OTDR information, the first set ofOTDR optical event parameters, and the first set of OTDR acquisitionparameters received, over the DUT, by the first OTDR device, and thefurther OTDR information acquired by the first OTDR device, the secondset of OTDR optical event parameters acquired by the first OTDR device,and the second set of OTDR acquisition parameters determined by thefirst OTDR device, the bi-directional combined schematic display thatincludes the relevant optical events with respect to the DUT.

According to examples disclosed herein, the sensor display generator 110may ascertain an IL measurement determined by the first OTDR device withrespect to the DUT in the direction from the first OTDR device towardsthe second OTDR device. Further, the sensor display generator 110 mayreceive, from the second OTDR device and over the DUT, IL measurementdetermined by the second OTDR device with respect to the DUT in thedirection from the second OTDR device towards the first OTDR device. Thesensor display generator 110 may generate the bi-directional combinedschematic display to include the IL measurement determined by the firstOTDR device with respect to the DUT in the direction from the first OTDRdevice towards the second OTDR device, and the IL measurement received,over the DUT, from the second OTDR device.

According to examples disclosed herein, the sensor display generator 110may generate the bi-directional combined schematic display bydetermining, based on the IL measurement determined by the first OTDRdevice with respect to the DUT in the direction from the first OTDRdevice towards the second OTDR device, and the IL measurement received,over the DUT, from the second OTDR device, an average IL measurement forthe DUT. Further, the sensor display generator 110 may generate thebi-directional combined schematic display to include the average ILmeasurement for the DUT.

According to examples disclosed herein, the sensor display generator 110may ascertain an OCWR-ORL measurement determined by the first OTDRdevice with respect to the DUT in the direction from the first OTDRdevice towards the second OTDR device. Further, the sensor displaygenerator 110 may receive, from the second OTDR device and over the DUT,OCWR-ORL measurement determined by the second OTDR device with respectto the DUT in the direction from the second OTDR device towards thefirst OTDR device. The sensor display generator 110 may generate thebi-directional combined schematic display to include the OCWR-ORLmeasurement determined by the first OTDR device with respect to the DUTin the direction from the first OTDR device towards the second OTDRdevice, and the OCWR-ORL measurement received, over the DUT, from thesecond OTDR device.

According to examples disclosed herein, the sensor display generator 110may generate the bi-directional combined schematic display bydetermining, based on the OCWR-ORL measurement determined by the firstOTDR device with respect to the DUT in the direction from the first OTDRdevice towards the second OTDR device, and the OCWR-ORL measurementreceived, over the DUT, from the second OTDR device, a highest OCWR-ORLmeasurement for the DUT. The sensor display generator 110 may generatethe bi-directional combined schematic display to include anidentification of the highest OCWR-ORL measurement for the DUT.

According to examples disclosed herein, the connection port may includea single connection port to perform bi-directional measurements withoutany optical disconnection.

According to examples disclosed herein, the optical events identified bythe first and second OTDRs may correspond to a wavelength of the laserbeam, and may be different from optical events that correspond to adifferent wavelength of the laser beam.

According to examples disclosed herein, the sensor display generator 110may ascertain, based on acquisition by the first OTDR device, thefurther OTDR information that includes the identification of opticalevents with respect to the DUT in the direction from the first OTDRdevice towards the second OTDR device by ascertaining, based onacquisition by the first OTDR device without any optical disconnectionfrom the DUT, the further OTDR information that includes theidentification of optical events with respect to the DUT in thedirection from the first OTDR device towards the second OTDR device.

According to examples disclosed herein, the OTDR information acquired bythe first OTDR device or the OTDR information acquired by the secondOTDR device may be filtered to delete an optical event based on anoptical event type or an optical event position relative to a splitter.

According to examples disclosed herein, for a PON topology, the firstend of the DUT may correspond to an ONT and the second end of the DUTmay correspond to an OLT. The OTDR information acquired by the firstOTDR device or the OTDR information acquired by the second OTDR devicemay be filtered to delete an optical event based on a determination ofwhether the optical event is an end of fiber event that is not relevantat the OLT, an optical event that is located after a specified splitter(e.g., a second splitter as disclosed herein) from the ONT, and anoptical event that is located after the specified splitter, or afteranother specified (e.g., a first splitter as disclosed herein) splitterfrom the OLT.

According to examples disclosed herein, the processor 3002 may executeoperations associated with the sensor display generator 110 to emit, bya laser source of the OTDR device 100, a laser beam into a DUT (e.g.,the optical fiber 106). The OTDR device 100 may include a connectionport to connect the OTDR device 100 to a first end of the DUT, where theOTDR device may be designated a first OTDR device. The sensor displaygenerator 110 may determine, based on the laser beam, a length of theDUT. The sensor display generator 110 may receive, from a second OTDRdevice connectable to a second opposite end of the DUT, and over theDUT, OTDR information acquired by the second OTDR device. The OTDRinformation may include an identification of optical events with respectto the DUT in a direction from the second OTDR device towards the firstOTDR device. Further, the OTDR information may be filtered to add ordelete an optical event based on a quality criterion. The sensor displaygenerator 110 may ascertain, based on acquisition by the first OTDRdevice, further OTDR information that includes an identification ofoptical events with respect to the DUT in a direction from the firstOTDR device towards the second OTDR device. The sensor display generator110 may filter the further OTDR information to add or delete the opticalevent based on the quality criterion. The sensor display generator 110may generate, based on the determined length of the DUT, the OTDRinformation received, over the DUT, by the first OTDR device, and thefurther OTDR information acquired by the first OTDR device, abi-directional combined schematic display that includes relevant opticalevents with respect to the DUT.

According to examples disclosed herein, the sensor display generator 110may filter the further OTDR information to add or delete the opticalevent based on the quality criterion by determining that the opticalevent associated with the OTDR information that includes theidentification of optical events with respect to the DUT in thedirection from the second OTDR device towards the first OTDR device isidentical to the optical event associated with the further OTDRinformation that includes the identification of the optical events withrespect to the DUT in the direction from the first OTDR device towardsthe second OTDR device. Based on this determination that the opticalevent associated with the OTDR information that includes theidentification of optical events with respect to the DUT in thedirection from the second OTDR device towards the first OTDR device isidentical to the optical event associated with the further OTDRinformation that includes the identification of the optical events withrespect to the DUT in the direction from the first OTDR device towardsthe second OTDR device, the sensor display generator 110 may analyze theoptical event to display specified optical event parameters with respectto the optical event.

According to examples disclosed herein, the specified optical eventparameters may include mean value for attenuation associated with theoptical event, a highest reflectance value associated with the opticalevent, and/or a distance from the first OTDR device.

What has been described and illustrated herein is an example along withsome of its variations. The terms, descriptions and figures used hereinare set forth by way of illustration only and are not meant aslimitations. Many variations are possible within the spirit and scope ofthe subject matter, which is intended to be defined by the followingclaims—and their equivalents—in which all terms are meant in theirbroadest reasonable sense unless otherwise indicated.

What is claimed is:
 1. An optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR)device comprising: a laser source to emit a laser beam into a deviceunder test (DUT); a connection port to connect the OTDR device to afirst end of the DUT, wherein the OTDR device is designated a first OTDRdevice; and a sensor display generator, executed by at least onehardware processor, to: determine, based on the laser beam, a length ofthe DUT; receive, from a second OTDR device connectable to a secondopposite end of the DUT, and over the DUT, OTDR information acquired bythe second OTDR device, wherein the OTDR information includes anidentification of optical events with respect to the DUT in a directionfrom the second OTDR device towards the first OTDR device; ascertain,based on acquisition by the first OTDR device, further OTDR informationthat includes an identification of optical events with respect to theDUT in a direction from the first OTDR device towards the second OTDRdevice; and generate, based on the determined length of the DUT, theOTDR information received, over the DUT, by the first OTDR device, andthe further OTDR information acquired by the first OTDR device, abi-directional combined schematic display that includes relevant opticalevents with respect to the DUT by determining, based on an insertionloss (IL) measurement determined by the first OTDR device with respectto the DUT in the direction from the first OTDR device towards thesecond OTDR device, and an IL measurement received, over the DUT, fromthe second OTDR device, an average IL measurement for the DUT, andgenerating the bi-directional combined schematic display to include theaverage IL measurement for the DUT.
 2. The OTDR device according toclaim 1, wherein the DUT includes an optical fiber.
 3. The OTDR deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the sensor display generator is furtherexecuted by the at least one hardware processor to generate thebi-directional combined schematic display that includes the relevantoptical events with respect to the DUT by: receiving, from the secondOTDR device and over the DUT, a first set of OTDR optical eventparameters for each optical event identified in the OTDR informationthat includes the identification of the optical events with respect tothe DUT in the direction from the second OTDR device towards the firstOTDR device, wherein the first set of OTDR optical event parametersincludes at least one of position, attenuation, reflectance, or opticalevent type associated with the optical events identified by the secondOTDR device; ascertaining, based on acquisition by the first OTDRdevice, a second set of OTDR optical event parameters for each opticalevent identified in the further OTDR information that includes theidentification of the optical events with respect to the DUT in thedirection from the first OTDR device towards the second OTDR device,wherein the second set of OTDR optical event parameters includes atleast one of position, attenuation, reflectance, or optical event typeassociated with the optical events identified by the first OTDR device;receiving, from the second OTDR device and over the DUT, a first set ofOTDR acquisition parameters associated with the OTDR information thatincludes the identification of the optical events with respect to theDUT in the direction from the second OTDR device towards the first OTDRdevice, wherein the first set of OTDR acquisition parameters includes atleast one of pulse width or resolution used during acquisition by thesecond OTDR device; ascertaining, based on determination by the firstOTDR device, a second set of OTDR acquisition parameters associated withthe further OTDR information that includes the identification of theoptical events with respect to the DUT in the direction from the firstOTDR device towards the second OTDR device, wherein the second set ofOTDR acquisition parameters includes at least one of pulse width orresolution used during the acquisition by the first OTDR device; andgenerating, based on the determined length of the DUT, the OTDRinformation, the first set of OTDR optical event parameters, and thefirst set of OTDR acquisition parameters received, over the DUT, by thefirst OTDR device, and the further OTDR information acquired by thefirst OTDR device, the second set of OTDR optical event parametersacquired by the first OTDR device, and the second set of OTDRacquisition parameters determined by the first OTDR device, thebi-directional combined schematic display that includes the relevantoptical events with respect to the DUT.
 4. The OTDR device according toclaim 1, wherein for a passive optical network (PON) topology, the firstend of the DUT corresponds to an optical network terminal (ONT) and thesecond end of the DUT corresponds to an optical line terminal (OLT). 5.The OTDR device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor displaygenerator is further executed by the at least one hardware processor togenerate the bi-directional combined schematic display by: determining,based on an optical continuous wave reflectometer-optical return loss(OCWR)-(ORL) measurement determined by the first OTDR device withrespect to the DUT in the direction from the first OTDR device towardsthe second OTDR device, and an OCWR-ORI, measurement received, over theDUT, from the second OTDR device, a highest OCWR-ORL measurement for theDUT; and generating the bi-directional combined schematic display toinclude an identification of the highest OCWR-ORI, measurement for theDUT.
 6. The OTDR device according to claim 1, wherein the connectionport includes a single connection port to perform bi-directionalmeasurements without any optical disconnection.
 7. The OTDR deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the optical events identified by the firstand second OTDRs correspond to a wavelength of the laser beam, and aredifferent from optical events that correspond to a different wavelengthof the laser beam.
 8. The OTDR device according to claim 1, wherein thesensor display generator is further executed by the at least onehardware processor to ascertain, based on acquisition by the first OTDRdevice, the further OTDR information that includes the identification ofoptical events with respect to the DUT in the direction from the firstOTDR device towards the second OTDR, device by: ascertaining, based onacquisition by the first OTDR device without any optical disconnectionfrom the DUT, the further OTDR information that includes theidentification of optical events with respect to the DUT in thedirection from the first OTDR device towards the second OTDR device. 9.The OTDR device according to claim 1, wherein the OTDR informationacquired by the first OTDR device or the OTDR information acquired bythe second OTDR device is filtered to delete an optical event based onan optical event position relative to a splitter.
 10. An opticaltime-domain reflectometer (OTDR) device comprising: a laser source toemit a laser beam into a device under test (DUT); a connection port toconnect the OTDR device to a first end of the DUT, wherein the OTDRdevice is designated a first OTDR device; and a sensor displaygenerator, executed by at least one hardware processor, to: determine,based on the laser beam, a length of the DUT; receive, from a secondOTDR device connectable to a second opposite end of the DUT, and overthe DUT, OTDR information acquired by the second OTDR device, whereinthe OTDR information includes an identification of optical events withrespect to the DUT in a direction from the second OTDR device towardsthe first OTDR device, and the OTDR information is filtered to add ordelete an optical event based on a quality criterion and based on anoptical event position relative to a splitter; ascertain, based onacquisition by the first OTDR device, further OTDR, information thatincludes an identification of optical events with respect to the DUT ina direction from the first OTDR device towards the second OTDR device;filter the further OTDR information to add or delete the optical eventbased on the quality criterion; and generate, based on the determinedlength of the DUT, the OTDR information received, over the DUT, by thefirst OTDR device, and the further OTDR information acquired by thefirst OTDR device, a bi-directional combined schematic display thatincludes relevant optical events with respect to the DUT.
 11. The OTDR,device according to claim 10, wherein the sensor display generator isfurther executed by the at least one hardware processor to filter thefurther OTDR information to add or delete the optical event based on thequality criterion by: determining that the optical event associated withthe OTDR information that includes the identification of optical eventswith respect to the DUT in the direction from the second OTDR devicetowards the first OTDR device is identical to the optical eventassociated with the further OTDR information that includes theidentification of the optical events with respect to the DUT in thedirection from the first OTDR device towards the second OTDR device; andanalyzing the optical event to display specified optical eventparameters with respect to the optical event.
 12. The OTDR deviceaccording to claim 11, wherein the specified optical event parametersinclude at least one of a mean value for attenuation associated with theoptical event, a highest reflectance value associated with the opticalevent, or a distance from the first OTDR device.
 13. The OTDR deviceaccording to claim 10, wherein the DUT includes an optical fiber. 14.The OTDR device according to claim 10, wherein for a passive opticalnetwork (PON) topology, the first end of the DUT corresponds to anoptical network terminal (ONT) and the second end of the DUT correspondsto an optical line terminal (OLT).
 15. The OTDR device according toclaim 10, wherein the sensor display generator is further executed bythe at least one hardware processor to generate the bi-directionalcombined schematic display by: determining, based on an opticalcontinuous wave reflectometer-optical return loss (OCWR)-(ORL)measurement determined by the first OTDR device with respect to the DUTin the direction from the first OTDR device towards the second OTDRdevice, and the OCWR-ORL measurement received, over the DUT, from thesecond OTDR device, a highest OCWR-ORL measurement for the DUT; andgenerating the bi-directional combined schematic display to include anidentification of the highest OCWR-ORL measurement for the DUT.
 16. TheOTDR device according to claim 10, wherein the connection port includesa single connection port to perform bi-directional measurements withoutat optical disconnection.
 17. The OTDR device according to claim 10,wherein the optical events identified by the first and second OTDRscorrespond to a wavelength of the laser beam, and are different fromoptical events that correspond to a different wavelength of the laserbeam.
 18. The OTDR device according to claim 10, wherein the sensordisplay generator is further executed by the at least one hardwareprocessor to ascertain, based on acquisition by the first OTDR device,the further OTDR information that includes the identification of opticalevents with respect to the DUT in the direction from the first OTDRdevice towards the second OTDR device by: ascertaining, based onacquisition by the first OTDR device without any optical disconnectionfrom the DUT, the further OTDR information that includes theidentification of optical events with respect to the DUT in thedirection from the first OTDR device towards the second OTDR device. 19.A non-transitory computer implemented method comprising: emitting, by alaser source of an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) device, alaser beam into a device under test (DUT), wherein the OTDR device isconnectable by a connection port to a first end of the DUT, and the OTDRdevice is designated a first OTDR device; determining, based on thelaser beam, a length of the DUT; receiving, by the first OTDR device,from a second OTDR device connectable to a second opposite end of theDUT, and over the DUT, OTDR information acquired by the second OTDRdevice, wherein the OTDR information includes an identification ofoptical events with respect to the DUT in a direction from the secondOTDR device towards the first OTDR device; ascertaining, based onacquisition by the first OTDR device, further OTDR information thatincludes an identification of optical events with respect to the DUT ina direction from the first OTDR device towards the second OTDR device;generating, by the first OTDR device, based on the determined length ofthe DUT, the OTDR information received, over the DUT, by the first OTDRdevice, and the further OTDR information acquired by the first OTDRdevice, a bi-directional combined schematic display that includesrelevant optical events with respect to the DUT; and filtering, by thefirst OTDR device, the further OTDR information acquired by the firstOTDR device or the (I)TDR information acquired by the second OTDR deviceto delete an optical event based on an optical event type.
 20. Thecomputer implemented method according to claim 19, wherein the DUTincludes an optical fiber.